


New

by Meg (meggpaswaters)



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-25
Updated: 2018-12-09
Packaged: 2019-08-29 03:53:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16736595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meggpaswaters/pseuds/Meg
Summary: Marcel Styles - Smart, wears glasses, a little awkward, irresistibly adorableHarry Styles - flamboyantly gay, radiates sunshine, head over heels for Louis TomlinsonEdward Styles - bipolar, covered in ink, fratboy plays football, a pain in the assSophie walks on to the campus of Newcastle, with no idea of what kind of year she's in for.





	1. Intro

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this for my best friend, just to see if I could do it (and bc I have been so far up One Direction's asses for so long), and then the characters started having minds of their own, and they pretty much wrote their own story. So, I thought I'd share. Hope you enjoy this incredibly mediocre story :)

# Intro

 

Harry opened Edward’s door with his hip and stumbled in, balancing three boxes in his arms. 

“Yes please do come in.” Edward welcomed his brother with a monotone voice. Harry plopped the boxes on the floor, glad to be rid of their weight, “hello brother dear,” Harry flashed him a tight lipped sarcastic smile. 

Edward had barely glanced up from whatever textbook he was reading, a yellow highlighter in hand and a blue pen tucked behind his ear. He was sprawled out in the middle of the bed with his feet where his head was supposed to be, his pillows thrown messily onto the floor, and his eyes rapidly moving left to right scanning the textbook’s contents. 

Edward flicked his gaze towards Harry, who was beginning to noisily open the top parcel and struggling with the packing tape.

“What’s in those?” Edward asked, not out of curiosity, but simply out of a need to know what Harry thought important enough to bother him with. 

“I took the liberty of fetching your post for you while I was getting my own,” Harry waited in vain for some sort of recognition. 

Edward continued reading. He highlighted something and placed the cap of the highlighter between his teeth. Either Edward was oblivious, or he was purposefully being ignorant of his brother’s good deeds. Harry guessed the latter. 

Harry sighed, bent down, and began rifling through the top parcel, “the top two are yours and the bottom is for marcel. I’ve already put mine in my room. I believe mum has entertained the idea that we all accidentally left things at home over holiday, but honest to god if I was the one she had knitted this ugly ass sweater for, I would leave it at home as well.” 

Harry held up a rather misshapen lump of yarn that was apparently supposed to resemble a sweater. It was a homemade Christmas gift from their mother to Edward three years ago. It was a muddy green color with a patch of bright yellow in the middle of the torso that Mrs. Styles had assured them was an  _ E, _ for Edward. The boys soon realized that knitting wasn’t her strong suite; it took their mother a little longer to come to the same conclusion.  

“Where do you want this?” Harry asked, holding the lumpy sweater at arms length, fearing it might contaminate his own meticulously planned outfit. 

“The rubbish bin outside.”

“Edward Styles!” Harry chucked the ugly sweater at Edward, who was still reading, “just because it’s ugly doesn’t mean you can throw it away! Anne spent time on that. It’s infused with love!”

“Jesus Harry! I’ll put it up later, relax.” Edward balled up the sweater and threw it on the ground. Harry sat on the edge of the bed with a small smile on his face, seeming suddenly unbothered.

“Is there something else you need?” Edward asked with irritation, capping his highlighter, after what seemed to be an hour of Harry sitting and staring. Harry’s smile grew to such a cheerful degree, that his cheeks began to practically radiate sunshine. Edward felt nauseous just looking at it.

“I was hoping we could chit chat for a bit.” Harry bent over and rested his head on his hands, kicking his feet up, all the while with his sickening, sweet smile. 

“Harry” Edward took a much needed breath, “what in God’s name would you and me have to ‘chit-chat’ about? I literally could not give less of a fu-“ The unwelcome opening of the door interrupted Edward. 

Backpack clad, with his hair gelled flat, in shuffled Marcel, “Oh is there a brothers united meeting in Edward’s room today? You should’ve told me.” Edward growled. He slammed his textbook shut and sat up. 

“What do  _ you _ want?”

“Hi Harry,” Marcel offered a small wave in Harry’s direction, to which harry cheerily waved back. “Edward, I have no intention of staying in this..” Marcel wrinkled his nose as if a foul odor had wafted below it, “barn.. you call a frat house for longer than is absolutely necessary.” 

“Why do you and Harry talk like that? It’s fucking weird.” This wasn’t a new sentiment from Edward. Marcel ignored him and continued.

“I came to retrieve my headphones that you borrowed from me on the drive up here.” 

“Christ’s sake,” Edward let out a huff and stomped over to the duffel bag sitting on the chair at his desk. He rummaged through it until he found the knotted ball of chord and aggressively tossed it to Marcel, who, unsurprisingly failed to catch it. 

“They’re all tangled up.” Marcel complained. 

Harry shook his head and chimed in unnecessarily from his perch on Edward’s bed, “Eddie,  _ Tsk, tsk _ ”

“Don’t fucking call me that,” Edward muttered. He strode to the door and ripped it open, propping it with his foot, “And get out.”

With an exasperated sigh and a pointed eye roll Marcel walked out. 

“You too queerie,” Edward barked at Harry who was still seated on his bed, innocently tracing swirls on the duvet. 

“Who me?” He feigned innocence. 

“Out.” Edward pointed towards the hallway. 

Harry deflated. He took his time uncrossing his legs before sulking out the door disappointedly. 

He popped his head back through the door, “Love you brother dear.” That smile was back. Harry made a move to kiss Edwards cheek, but in one swift movement Edward pushed him back, completely out of the room, and slammed the door. 

“Bye bye Edward!” Harry sang from the hallway. 

Edward inwardly winced at the thought of Harry and all his flamboyancey waltzing through the House, for all the frat to see. 

“Jesus Christ” he muttered, locking the door and returning to his bed. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So if anyone wants to help me out with this, please let me know. My instagram fan acc is 1deadx (which I just recently started so help a girl out and give her a follow lol)  
> Hope you enjoy this chapter. It’s kinda boring I’m sorry

# Chapter 1

 

I was tired. 

I knew that the 20 minutes left of my drive, along with meeting my new roommate, was going to be hell if I didn’t get some caffeine in my system. 

When I had first toured Newcastle University and explored the surrounding city, I made sure to find the closest 24 hour coffee shop, because as they say; old habits die hard, and sleep doesn’t come easily, and when sleep doesn’t come easily, the next day comes regardless of how much (or how little) sleep you’ve gotten, and sometimes coffee is the only thing that can keep you alive enough to sit through a two hour lecture about binomials and trinomials and all of the other useless ‘nomials. 

The outside of the small building was plain. The windows were dark, the only Light was the flickering “Open 24 hours“ sign. I didn’t even know the name of the place, the sign outside just said “cafe”, in bold orange letters. The inside was a different story. The first thing you noticed upon walking in was the art that adored every wall, ceiling, and floor, creating a smattering of different hues across every surface. The mismatched furniture and dim lighting could’ve come off as dinghy, but instead it felt like your aunts living room. Somehow. 

The thing that really sold me on the place, was the five layered shelving unit filled to the brim with bongs (I had no intention of utilizing said bongs, but the idea made me laugh). 

I stumbled up to the counter and the short disheveled man working behind it. Without much consideration, I ordered the most caffeinated beverage on the menu and a bottle of water. Something called the  _ All Nighter. _

“4.28,” The man read out my total like a stone statue. For whatever reason I found his monotone voice somewhat aggravating, but I decided to cut the guy some slack, it was 2:45 in the morning. 

“Shit.” I muttered after a moment of rummaging through my small purse, “ I left my wallet in my car, let me go grab it, I’m sorry.” Idiotic, but in all honesty, pretty unsurprising for me; and again, it’s 2:45 in the morning. 

Robot Man looked annoyed that he had to wait on _me_ , one of the only three people in the cramped shop. At least I knew he could have emotion, even if it was unwarranted annoyance.

A  large hand slid a five dollar bill towards the cash register, “Here,” A quiet voice said. 

I glanced up to see a tired looking boy with square rimmed glasses sitting at the bar. Behind his glasses, the boy’s face was flushed and he refused to meet my gaze. 

“Oh, no that’s okay!” I sputtered, embarrassed. I motioned in the general direction of the door. “There’s really no need, I’ll just be a second.” 

The boy looked mortified. 

“It’s fine” he squeaked out. I got the impression that if he could sink into his chair and disappear forever, he would. I thought it best to just let it go. 

I put my hands down in defeat. “Thank you.” I said quietly. 

The stiff natured man had barely blinked during the entire exchange. He took the crumpled bill without any kind of feeling whatsoever. 

I stood there for a moment after he handed the brown haired boy the receipt, shuffling my feet and trying to decide where to make them go. “Would you mind if I sit with you?” It sounded horribly awkward. My mouth moved much faster than my brain could keep up with. 

“Uhm, sure” the boy kept his head down and a piece of hair fell from its strictly gelled position, dangling over one eyebrow. 

I settled myself in the seat to his left, hanging my purse over the back of The chair. 

“I’m Sophie.” I held out my hand. 

For the first time, he looked up and I was immediately taken with his large green eyes, “Marcel.” He took my hand as he introduced himself. 

“Nice to meet you Marcel, and thank you again.” He looked less frightened this time and gave me a half smile in response. 

There was a short silence as robot man set my coffee in front of me. Marcel was reaching up and pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose, when I noticed the crest on the sleeve of his blazer. 

“Do you go to Newcastle?” I asked earnestly. 

He looked up, slightly taken aback, “yea, I do. It’s my second year.” 

“Do you like it there? It’s my first year attending” I picked up my mug and turned to face him. I took a sip of my drink and immediately fought the urge to spit it out everywhere. It tasted like molten lava. I scanned the menu to see just how many shots of espresso were in this cup, and I tried not to gag as I forced myself to down the small mouthful of sludge. My movement seemed to make Marcel slightly uncomfortable, but he chose not to comment. 

“Yea it’s...big.” He spoke unsteadily, unconsciously leaning away from my presence. I continued to coax a few more pieces of information out of him (without choking this time); such as his major - English, with a minor in political sciences, age - 19, and that he was very smart. He didn’t formally say that he was smart, but it was easy to tell. 

“So what are you doing at a cafe at 3 in the morning?” I asked by the time both of our hot drinks were lukewarm and half full. I had managed to take quick gulps of mine, mostly bypassing the sour flavor. 

His face flushed again,”writing.” he said as he instinctively put his hand over the worn journal on the bar that he had been immersed in before I joined him. “what about you?”

I held up my now half empty, not quite hot mug, “needed a pick me up.”

“At 3AM?”

“I have things to do.”

“Like go to sleep?” 

“That’s awfully hypocritical of you Marcel.” I smiled, and he let out a slight laugh while pushing a piece of dark hair off of his forehead. 

I noticed that his hair curled slightly at ends and the edge of his temples. It looked as if it had been neatly styled earlier that day, but the effort to stay slick was lost in the night. 

Another 15 minutes of easy small talk passed before Marcel said, “I better ring a taxi and head back to campus”

“I’m actually headed to campus tonight as well, I don’t mind giving you a ride.” Before he could protest I cut him off, “I owe you one for the coffee.”

“Well,” Marcel thought for a moment. He seemed genuinely on the fence about accepting my offer.  _ I don’t look that threatening do I? _

“Alright then.” He decided, still not sounding confident. 

Once in my car, I began to feel self conscious about the way it smelled and the straw wrapper on the floor but Marcel didn’t seem to notice. Or maybe he had the grace to pretend not to. Either way, I was grateful. 

”Do you know what dorm you’re in?” He asked. 

“I’m actually not sure, but it doesn’t really matter, I’ll be joining ACO soon.”

“ACO..” he trailed off. 

“Alpha Chi Omega,” I explained , “it’s one of the-“ 

“It’s a sorority.” Marcel said softly. “ACO..” He repeated, sounding disappointed “what makes you so...sure?”

“It was my moms sorority when she went here. Do you know anyone there?”

“Uh,” he looked slightly panicked, like I had put him on the spot, “no not really.” I got the sense that this wasn’t complete truth, but I let it go. 

“So your mom went here? That’s neat.” He smiled at me, and I noticed that he had a dimple.  _ Great.  _ I also couldn’t help but notice the cute way he sat slightly hunched, with his hands sloppily folded in his lap, like he didn’t know what to do with them. 

“Yea, she and my dad met here actually. They got married their junior year.” They also got divorced six years later, but I felt it wise to leave that bit out, “what about you?” I inquired. 

“I’m pretty sure my parents met at some bar, I don’t really know, to be honest” he scratched behind his ear, “pretty romantic, right?” he joked sheepishly. 

“Hey my parents screwed at some frat party the day they met, so I might have you beat.” 

Marcel let out a loud piercing laugh, and immediately clapped his hand over his mouth,  “I’m sorry” he said, fighting back another laugh. 

I joined his laughter, “no, it’s actually pretty funny.”

The rest of the car ride went on much the same, small talk and laughter. Marcel was awkward by nature, but 4AM seemed to melt away any tension or uncomfortable topics, making free speech an easy feat in the early hours of the morning. I couldn’t help but sneak a glance at that dimple every time he laughed, it was irresistibly adorable. 

When we arrived at the university I was once again baffled by the sheer size of the place. Beautiful brick buildings sat atop rolling hills, with vines slithering up the sides of walls. It was one structure after another, an entire city of students and old brick. I loved it. 

Marcel directed me to the admissions office - he assured me there was someone there all hours of the night, and that they could help find which dorm I was assigned. It was a large building (all of the buildings were large at this uni) with long steps leading up to oak wood doors. 

“Do you need me to drop you off at your dorm?” I realized I had no idea how far away his housing was from the office. 

“Oh, well I don’t mind helping you get settled if you have bags or something…” he trailed off and glanced at the backseat of my car, which had multiple bags piled atop each other. I noticed his cheeks had gone ruddy. 

I had just met the kid and he’d already paid for my coffee and wanted to help me get settled into my room. Something about him made it so that any hidden evil intentions didn’t even cross my mind. I knew that he was just genuinely kind. It dawned on me that Marcel could technically be my first friend here.

Before I knew what I was saying, I accepted his offer. I didn’t want my new and only friend to leave quite yet. 

I turned off the ignition on my car and winced at the high pitched squeaking sound that emitted from it. 

“Does it always do that?” Marcel asked with genuine concern, tilting his head. 

“Yea,” I chuckled awkwardly. 

“Maybe you should get it looked at.”

“Nah,” I started climbing out of the car, Marcel mimicking my movements, “she’s fine, just whiney.”

“Whiney..” Marcel repeated, still obviously concerned. 

I patted the car on the hood, and with that we walked up the steps. Marcel opened the doors and took the lead towards one of the desks inside. I had been here before on one of my tours, but I still gawked at the marbled floors and high ceilings. I followed Marcel to a plump woman with short brown hair, who was sat behind a large wooden desk. The top of it gleamed, and reflected the high ceiling lights above our heads. 

“Hello Marcel!” The woman greeted fondly “what can I do for you love?” She spoke to him like an old friend. She looked to be in her mid 40’s and unbothered by the wee hours of the morning. 

Marcel’s dimple made an appearance as he smiled at the woman, “Clara, how are you?” I felt slightly like I was intruding. “This is Sophia, and she needs her NSI packet as well as her room key.”

“Sophia Singleton right?” She looked in my direction and smiled warmly. 

“Yes ma’am nice to meet you,” I moved closer to the desk suddenly feeling the need to make my independence known. 

The three of us made small talk as the woman, Clara printed out my student ID card and put it in a thick green folder labeled “New Student Information”.

“Marcel, darling are you going to show her to her dorm or should I direct her where to go?”

Marcel looked at me, “I don’t mind showing you.” His cheeks were red again. 

I answered quickly, “Sure, fine by me.” 

Clara informed us that my dorm was called Vale, and Marcel seemed to know where that was so we left. 

He directed me through the campus, and after a five minute drive, we arrived at Vale, a building just as large and beautiful as the others on this campus. 

“Clara seemed very keen on you,” I remarked as we began unloading things from the back of my car.

He shrugged, “Yea, I help at the admissions office quite a bit as part of my prefect duties.”

“You’re a prefect?” I really wasn’t surprised; he seemed reasonably well put together for a sophomore in college. 

“Yea” He shouldered my duffle bag and pulled up the handle on my suitcase. “is this it?”

I nodded, “all set.” 

As we walked up to the brick building, I pulled a sheet of paper out from the folder that had my floor and room number on it. 

“I kind of love the name of this dorm, I’ll be sad to leave it.” I said, once we were in the  elevator. 

“Oh, why?” I briefly wondered if Marcel had many friends, he seemed surprised every time I started a new conversation with him as if he wasn’t expecting anyone to want to continue speaking with him. 

“It’s the name of this album-“ 

“No I meant why are you leaving?” Marcel interrupted. 

I pressed the third floor button, “as soon as Rush week starts I’ll hopefully be moving into the sorority.”Marcel’s brows furrowed and small lines of disappointment appeared on his forehead. He didn’t respond.

The elevator dinged and the doors opened to the 7th floor. I led the way to my room by following the signs.

“Here we are.” I said stopping at room 131. “Now you know where I temporarily live so don’t stalk me outside of visiting hours.” I grinned trying to pretend what I just said didn’t sound really, really stupid. I could see a look of panic rising in his face again. “Just joking,” I said quickly. 

“Right.” He said. 

There was a pause and I busied myself with trying to unlock the door.  

The lights were already on and the room was void of any personal items. There were two beds, two desks, a pair of chairs, and a nightstand next to each bed. 

“Doesn’t look like you have a roommate.” Marcel spoke. He looked around the room and slid my duffle off his shoulder and onto the floor. 

I walked further into the room and set my own bags on the bed to the right of the room “probably best since I won’t be in here for long. Do you know if the sororities have communal bathrooms?” I opened a door and found a small bathroom behind it, answering my own question. I really was not eager to share a bathroom with 15 other girls. 

Marcel shrugged. He was standing rather awkwardly by the door. “Anyways,” he cleared his throat. “ I guess I should.. uh, let you get settled in.”

“Oh, right. Thank you so much Marcel, I’m sorry to have kept you out so late.” 

“It’s fine.” He said quietly. 

We stood by the door. The room was silent. 

“My dorm is actually quite close by so I’ll just walk.” He put his hand on the door knob and then paused and turned towards me again, “it was good to meet you.” He seemed very unsure of himself. Was it good to meet me?

“Thanks again, I’ll make it up to you sometime.” 

He smiled and quickly shuffled out of the door. 

As soon as I heard the lock click behind him, I realized how exhausted I was. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and looked at the time. 

5:45 AM. 

“Jesus Christ.” I muttered. 

I didn’t bother setting an alarm, grateful that tomorrow was Saturday. I also didn’t bother putting my duvet or sheets on the bed. I simply kicked my shoes off and fell asleep, fully clothed on the bare mattress. 


End file.
